CHICAGO (WLS/CNN) - Merchants in Cook County wanted to send a clear message to consumers on Friday: Come back to Cook County to shop now that the soda tax is gone.
For the last four months, many Cook County residents went out of their way to go to other counties to buy pop and other sweetened beverages because they couldn't swallow the sugary drink tax.
It was repealed by the Cook County board in October, after major backlash from consumers and merchants, as well as a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. The penny-per-ounce drink tax officially went away at midnight.
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